Private Security Guards Walk Fine Line On Enforcement

Security Guards Walk Fine Line On Enforcement

The uniforms worn by security officers in the state's stores and shopping malls may make them look like police, but their powers are starkly different.

And though this month they face an unseen army of holiday shoplifters, law enforcement officials say security personnel have no more authority than any citizen who sees a crime and tries to stop it.

But even where there's only a narrow band of power, there exists the possibility for abuse.

"There's always a chance you'll get someone with no law enforcementtraining who thinks he's a police officer, and then he's likely to do something wrong," said William Dow, chairman of the Connecticut Bar Association's criminal justice section. "Things like that do happen, but they're not often reported."

In a suit filed Monday against G. Fox & Co., Litchfield resident Pamela Gardner claimed that on July 23 two store security officers wrongly accused her of stealing underwear and forced her to strip from the waist down.

She also said security workers laughed and snickered at her as she left the store at Westfarms mall in West Hartford.

Gardner's accusation raises questions about private security forces and just how far they can go when protecting the property of the stores and businesses who pay their salaries.

State statutes on security guards give them no specific powers to search or detain people suspected of a crime. Neither does the state mandate any kind of training.

Further, only people working for security companies have to have their backgrounds checked by the state police, said state police spokesman Sgt. Scott O'Mara.

People who work directly for a store, like G. Fox & Co. or Filene's, are not subject to state licensing and background checks, he said.

"They have the same right to try to stop a crime in progress as any citizen, but then they can be held accountable for what they

do," said Jack Fraser, who handles loss prevention issues for the National Retail Federation, based in New York City.

Gardner's suit claims that she was told to go to a dressing room, strip to her waist, and hand her underpants to a female security officer. Gardner said she had violent crying fits after the incident, which G. Fox's parent company, May Department Stores, would not discuss. The suit asks for more than $15,000 in damages.

Gardner was not charged with stealing the underwear and no charges were filed against the security workers after Gardner complained to West Hartford police.

Because state law doesn't preclude security officers from searching people, and because some retail chains won't discuss their security policies, some rights activists say the situation is a potentially dangerous one.

"We've heard of these things happening before, but usually it's to someone who doesn't have the means to bring a suit," said William Olds, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union.

Olds explained that the right of people to be free from unreasonable searches -- granted under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution -- does not apply when dealing with private security forces. The amendment specifically mentions searches by government forces, Olds said.

"It's a troublesome area because I don't think we have any strong legislation that affectively regulates private security," Olds said.

Even though suits such as Gardner's are unusual, Fraser and several police chiefs said that may be because most security personnel are competent professionals who don't abuse their power.

Their role, police say, is to spot potential crimes and report them, detaining suspects if possible. And statistics show there may be more suspects than ever: Since 1981 the number of shoplifting incidents -- basically any theft from a store -- have generally been on the rise.

That may be because of the recession, or maybe because there are more arrests being made, Fraser said. Often if a shoplifting arrest is not made, the store doesn't know anything was stolen and does not report it, Fraser said.

While not commenting on Gardner's suit, several police chiefs and some security professionals said they do not think security officers should search suspects or ask them to strip.

"Clearly we always prefer that security guards not take any action until police arrive," said Bernard Sullivan, former chief of police in Hartford and former state commissioner of public safety. "And a strip search is something that even police don't do without exercising extreme caution."

"I wouldn't search anyone," said David Bidwell, vice president of Tri-City Security Service in East Hartford. "That's not our job, we let police do that."

Because of the lack of a clear state law, each store or business can set its own security policy. Sears, for example, does not allow its security people to search or forcibly detain anyone, said Greg Rossiter, a company spokesman based in Chicago.

James Muir, spokesman for J.C. Penney's headquarters in Dallas, said their security guards go through a training program with specific guidelines. He declined to be specific about the guidelines for security reasons.

"I don't think we do anything the police think is not appropriate," he said. Spokespeople for two other major retailers, Filene's and Sage-Allen, declined comment.

Dianne C. Noth, general manager of Westfarms mall, said her security staff cannot make arrests, carry weapons or search people. They get monthly training in constitutional rights, management skills, first aid and sensitivity, she said. Some larger stores, such as G. Fox, have their own security personnel with their own training and guidelines.

"We try really hard to educate our tenants and have them adopt policies similar to ours," Noth said. "Basically our process is a deterrent. If we are visible and patrol, our approach is [crime] is less likely to occur."